Quick Links

Club PA 2.0 has arrived! If you'd like to access some extra PA content and help support the forums, check it out at patreon.com/ClubPA

The image size limit has been raised to 1mb! Anything larger than that should be linked to. This is a HARD limit, please do not abuse it.

Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

[PTA Game On!] HIGH SCHOOL IS HELL

This here is the IC thread for our Primetime Adventures game, for the T.V. show. "High School is Hell." It's about four average high school students and the drama they encounter, and the discovery that they're the four horsemen of the apocalypse!

Each episode has ten scenes, and there's five episodes in the first season (there's only one season). Tune in and enjoy!

If you're diggin' the show and want to send Fan mail (not to be confused with the game-mechanic Fanmail, which I deliberately made one word to avoid such a confusion), feel free to post it in our OOC Behind the Scenes thread HERE: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=84480.

Enjoy!

robotsunshine on April 2009

0

Posts

The hall clock says it's five in the morning. At least an hour before the other two janitors would show up. A thin, scraggly, unshaven man in a dirty, gray jumpsuit wheels around a cleaning bucket and mop. Camera pans up from his boots to his face. He's staring idly, and licks his lips, flashing his horrible yellowed teeth, a few of which are not only missing, but revealing jagged portions of gum and root as well.

The janitor's name tag says, "LUCKY".

Wide shot of Lucky wheeling the cleaning bucket across an empty, darkened hallway. We see him step over to a locker. This is Milos Ewen's locker, and Lucky pulls a folded up sheet of paper from his pocket and stuffs it through the vent. He licks his lips again, this time revealing a horrible grin which lingers too long in the shot.

A shot of Lucky spritzing the windows with cleaner fluid, and wiping them. He checks the clock. five minutes 'til. He looks through the window and sees a car pull up. Watching for a moment, he sees another janitor arrive - an old, fat woman who waddles her way towards the front door.

The woman's name tag says, Henrietta. She takes up the entire shot.

As she comes in and passes Lucky, she seems noticeably uneasy. She gives a nod and grunt, and Lucky flashes a wide smile in return. Henrietta waddles away as fast as her small, fat legs will take her towards the janitor's office.

Lucky watches her go, never blinking. Out the window behind him, a second car pulls up, but he doesn't care. He keeps grinning, wide-eyed, as the janitor lady heads out of sight. He knows the students will be here in yet another hour, and all that planning, all those long hours of waiting - today is the day they come to fruition.

He speaks. His voice is gravelly - a mix between a rock tumbler and bronchitis. He is still watching the spot where Henrietta was. "Shame. She was a good woman, too." He reaches into his pocket and removes a pocket knife, flicking it open - the blade chipped and stained. "Gotta crack a few eggs, make an omelette."

With that, we cut to another outside shot of the school - the sun has risen, and the first bell rings.

!scene end

robotsunshine on March 2009

0

Dac VinS-s-screw you! I only listen to DOUBLE MUSIC!Registered Userregular

From its far end, the camera follows two students, a girl named Jane Chambers and a boy named Milos Ewen. Jane is carrying a history book and is dictating a list of materials to Milos, while Milos note it down in his agenda while chewing on a roast at the same time.

"... You can do that for us, Milos?" Jane asks. Milos slightly nods. The two part ways at Milos' locker.

Side shot of Milos opening his locker, with a faint worried expression. As soon as the lock is undone, he moves in to stop an incoming avalanche of random stuff. His left arm block books from above, while his body block junk from below; meanwhile, the small note just fall down on the floor.

With a few acrobatics, Milos manage to take a math book from the mess, then close the locker. He sigh, grabs the note on the floor, showe it in his pocket, then runs off.

The camera follow him until he mistakenly bump into another student named Samantha Grecco. Excusing himself, he runs off once more. This time the camera doesn't follow him, focusing on Samantha instead.

Samantha turns around and watches Milo leave. She starts to say something, but is bumped from behind and stumbles forward. She smiles and turns around then yells, "What the hell?!"

"What the HELL!!", is Jane's response, and the girls begin to laugh at the attention their private joke brings. "Did you ask him?", Samantha asks as they start walking toward class, "I've heard that the kid can find anything! We just need to rent the guns for like one day. Hell, even I'll throw down for all the paintballs if I have to. I'm not even allll about shooting Cody in his face, I just want to get out there!" She takes a few more steps before realizing that Jane has stopped.

"You've been acting strange lately Sam. First it was the video games, then you start spending all that time at the Veteran's hospital, and now you actually want to go shoot people". Jane stopped in the front of a classroom door and leaned against the wall. "Next thing you'll probably join the Marines or something!". Samantha walked back toward her friend and sighed. "It is weird. I've been bored doing the usual stuff, and I kind of feel like I'm missing something. Talking to the people at the hospital isn't boring. I can almost feel their stories like they were mine. I can't explain it but.."

The bell rings, and both girls jump then look up. They are standing right under the clock. The camera pans around and reveals that the halls are all but empty. Jane gives Sam a quick goodbye, then dashes off down the hall. Jane gives the clock another look and begins to walk to her class.

"Painballin eh? That sounds like a lot of fun. You're a good girl to be organizing something like that for your entire class Samantha. " Lucky the Janitor pushes a large room down the hall. 'The halls are never dirty, but Lucky's always cleaning,' Samantha thinks to herself. "The best offense is a good defense.." Lucky states, "But I'm sure that someone such as yourself can get around any defense. Aren't you afraid that some of your classmates might get hurt? Pain balls can be dangerous. Lucky stops pushing his broom and focuses on a spot down the hall. There is, was a piece of paper on the ground, but by the time Sam turns around it's gone. Lucky is back to smiling at her. "At any rate, are you all just going to show up in the woods and shoot each other until you run out of balls or what? I mean, I guess that sounds fun, but wouldn't it be a lot more fun if your team knew what it was doing and would follow your orders to the letter?" Samantha was listening intently to Lucky, but after the last words left his mouth she laughed.

"Oh come on Lucky. You deal with the kids here all day long. They barely listen to the teachers and stuff when in the halls, there's no way they'd listen to me in the forest with paint guns in their hands."

"Well Sam, I know that there are some kids in the school who will 'listen to you in battle'", Lucky's air quotes are exagerated, and Samantha starts to laugh. "I can think of some that are into warfare as much as you are..." Sam stopped laughing, and watched him walk away. "I hear a lot while cleaning up this school. I'll talk to some like-minded students, and get 'em to show up to the forest and help you destroy Cody.

"I guess he does hear a lot." Sam muttered to herself. She looked up at the clock again, and was surprised to find that their conversation didn't take as long as she thought. She hurried off to her class room. She sat down just as the teacher was about to shut the door, and settled in for a boring class.

[We cut to a shot of a girl lighting a cigarette in the bathroom, where she is sitting on a sink. This is our first glimpse of GRACE WINTER. She has black hair with purple highlights and wears dark eyeshadow. She is dressed in a black t-shirt and a red-and-black plaid skirt with fishnet stockings. She looks pretty, but dangerous.]

Grace takes a drag of her cigarette, then hops off the sink and looks in the mirror. She exhales, a deep sigh of frustration that sends a plume of smoke toward the ceiling.

The door opens. In walks a pretty girl. This is ALLISON STEVENS, the closest thing Taylor West High School has to a queen. Blond haired and blue-eyed, she walks to the mirror next to Grace and pulls out a make-up compact and begins to touch up her face.

Allison looks at Grace from the corner of her eye. "You do know that smoking isn't allowed on school property, don't you, skank?"

Grace looks over at Allison, then flicks her ashes into Allison's open compact. "Blow me, Barbie. Then again, maybe I could ask your boyfriend to do it? Word around school is that Cody has his fingers in more-"

Allison snaps her make-up compact shut and puts it back in her purse. "Whatever, bitch. I'm not going to let some trailer park trash talk down to-"

[Allison's tirade is interrupted by a flash of images onscreen. Grace grabs Allison by the neck and slams her up against the mirror, causing it to crack into a series of spider-webs. Another flash, this time a close up of Grace's hands folding themselves around Allison's neck and squeezing. Another flash, to Allison's terrified face as she chokes and gurgles. Another flash, to Grace's face, satisfaction and pleasure evident on her face. Abruptly, the scene cuts back to Allison, a look of confusion on her face. Everything is as it was before Grace's explosion of violence.]

Allison shakes her head. "Hello? Earth to skank, did you hear anything I said? Freak." Allison looks at Grace with disgust before leaving the bathroom.

We cut to a shot of Grace looking in the mirror again, a look of alarm evident on her face as we see her reflection. "The hell?" She tosses her cigarette in the sink and walks away.

As she leaves, we see the janitor leaning against the lockers across from the girls' bathroom. He gives her a knowing smile and nods.

[Camera pans from hallway to a window facing the parking lot, where we see a black Lexus pulling in a little too fast. Cut to the inside of the car. We see Peter Thorn, a teenager of average height and build. He is wearing trendy clothes and listening to something off of the billboard top 40. He is also talking with his mother on a cell phone. We only hear his side of the conversation.]

"Yeah mom...No, I don't know where dad left his pills...Check his office, I'm sure they're in his desk or something...Look I need to go to class mom. I'm already late, again."

(Peter pulls into a parking spot and begins hurriedly yanking things out of his backseat with one hand and holding his cellphone in the other)

"Yeah, I know, I know...I'll be fine. Talk to you later mom."

Peter sighs and lets his shoulders drop. He opens up the glove box and pulls out a pair of sunglasses. He puts them on, checks himself in the mirror and exits the car. As he crosses the lot we see him whispering to himself.

"It's okay, it's all gonna be fine. We're gonna be okay. Smile, wave, repeat. No one needs to know, just act like it's all okay and it will be. Positive thinking, positive thinking. It's just cancer, it's not the end of the world."

In today's sacrilegious sinful pagan society, men are woman are able to perform terrible deeds such as playing video games, taking the lord's name in vain, sex before marriage, and gay marriage. Without any visible consequence or retribution from our wonderful and merciful God. However, today it's your turn to play God with The Deluxe Holy Hammer!

Infused with the powers of our lord and savior, this hammer can be used to smite down the wicked and evil hearts within our society through vigilante justice. Those who participate in debauchery will prostrate themselves to your feet begging for mercy. However, it will be for naught as you strike them down to the fiery hell in which they belong. This hammer also serves as a great decoration for the household and can be used individuals of any age and is a useful tool for a family.

In order to win the culture wars within America a strong investment must be made in order to protect our future, our children, and our very way of life. That investment is The Deluxe Holy Hammer!

The Permanent Phone Book is to annual phone books as the GPS is to paper road maps. This device is a portable electronic telephone directory, keeping an up-to-date record (via wireless downloads) of personal and business listings, which can be searched and sorted by name, phone number, service type, address, etc. Bluetooth functionality to automatically dial and store numbers with your mobile phone. You'll never need to bother with bulky, outdated phone books again.

"They're just kids Roland. Large kids with hormones, but still kids. Besides, the year just started, let's give it some time before we start expelling 'em."

[Andrews shuts the door and pinches his nose]

"Lord, give me strength...", he says to no one in particular.

"That ever work? Well it must. I mean, why would you do it if it didn't work?

[Lucky pushes his broom down the hall and grins at Principal Andrews. Once again the halls are spotless.]

"Me? I used to pray. Guess I just don't have it in my anymore. But I believe though. That's one thing thay I haven't lost. What about you Andrews, do you believe?"

"Oh, I always believe Lucky, but sometimes it seems it's not enough. But I don't really need heavenly intervention to run my school. It's... just nice to know that there's someone up there listening I guess."

"There's always someone listening Andrews, and watching. Might not be who you have in mind, but someone's always listening. You should get back to work Andrews. I'll keep the halls clean, you make sure the children gorw up right."

[Lucky grabs his broom and dustpan, and when he turns around is holding a mop and bucket]

"Seems like someone thought they were going to make a mess in the bathroom, but decided against it. Haha! Better luck next time..."

[Lucky makes his way to the girls' bathroom and steps inside.]

Andrews shakes his head, "Crazy old man." He sighs then walks down the hall.

----

[Camera pans from Andrews walking down the hall to Jane sitting in an office. She has a notebook in her hands and is scribbling furiously. Principal Andrews walks in and sits at the desk.]

----

"Sorry for making you wait Jane. I know why you're here. I've already talked to Mr. Roland and got his side of the story. Your brother gave me his side of the story when I caught him setting up his prank, and of course the coach gave me an earful too. You like to defend your brother a lot, but there's not much you can do in this case... I've already made up my mind."

[Andrews sits back in his chair and folds his hands.]

"Uh. I'm not here for that today. Cody's going to have to work that out for himself this time. I like Mr. Roland, and Cody's prank didn't even make any sense! I don't even get what pouring honey, then Cherrios on a car is supposed to mean. I get that there are Honey Nut Cheerios but..."

[Principal Andrews puts on his best principal face]

"That's not the point. Anyway, what can I help you with today?"

"We're"

[The door flies open and Samantha bolts in and sits next to Jane.]

"Sorry I'm late, did he say yes?!" Sam asks.

"As I was going to say before being so rudely interrupted Principal Andrews, we're done planning our class' retreat this year."

"We're going paintballing in the woods!" Samantha exclaimed, "We've got permission from the city, I've researched and found some non-toxic paintballs, and protective gear and everything!"

"Right. And as you know the retreat usually happens with or without the school's permission or help, but we were thinking that having a chaperone wouldn't be the worst idea."

[Principal Andrews shakes his head]

"There's no way any of the teachers are going to spend their day watching you all play paintball. It's bad enough that you are telling me you're doing it at all."

[Andrews takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes.]

"Well sometimes people get hurt or do bad things during the retreat, so we figure having someone official along will keep kids safe. Last year I heard Billy Nedermeyer drank like six beers and puked all over the senoir council.

I don't want anyone puking on me, Sam said eyes wide.

[Both Jane and Andrews stare at Samantha.]

"I'll bet Lucky would do it, he's always interested in the latest gossip and stuff, he'd love to see something like this firsthand."

"Now wait Samantha. Beyond the fact that Lucky would be using one of his days off to babysit your class, we can't officially have a member of the staff at one of your events. Can't you have a bake sale in the cafeteria or something? Maybe you can raise money to go to Washington D.C.."

[Now Jane and Sam stare at the Principal.]

"Principal Andrews, we've already decided to do it. I didn't think of Lucky before, but Sam is right, and he looks like he could use a day in the sun or something."

"Jane, Lucky's... Not exactly the best, uh, person to do something like this."

"Why's that?" Jane asked.

"Well he's getting on in the years, and there are a lot of you to keep track of."

[We cut to a wide shot of a classroom. The students are taking a test. Grace is distractedly tapping her pencil on the desk.]

As the other students are concentrating, her nose wrinkles. It's clear from her expression that something smells bad. She tries to return her attention to her test, but fails. She looks outside the classroom door into the hallway and sees a rather large woman walk by, look her directly in the eye, scowl, then continue walking. Worse, her throat has been slit.

[We cut back to Grace, whose eyes widen in surprise and fear.]

The smell gets worse. Along with the grotesque sight of the woman, Grace feels as if she's about to vomit. She quickly scribbles something down, hands it to her teacher, then bolts from the classroom into the hallway.

She passes one of the hall monitors, who asks her what's the matter. "Can't you smell that? It smells like... rotten eggs or something."

The hall monitor sniffs the air, then shakes their head. "No, I don't smell anything besides the sloppy joes they're making in the cafeteria. Definitely no eggs. Maybe you need some fresh air?"

Grace looks past the monitor down the hall, then sees the heavy woman turn the corner, disappearing from view. "Maybe..." Grace mumbles as she hurries past the monitor, following the woman.

From the behind the monitor, we see Lucky exit the girl's bathroom. "You know, it does actually smell a bit like sulfur out here."

Grace turns the corner, to find the woman nowhere in sight. She's found herself in a short alcove, with a door reading "Boiler Room." The only place that woman could've went to...

Grace opens the door, to find the room dark. She steps inside, momentarily causing the screen to go black. We hear a click as Grace finds a light switch, then a gasp.

We see a horrible murder, enough to shock the audience, but not enough to break the TV-14 rating the show has received. An obese woman has been duct taped to the wall, her legs together, her arms out to the side, in a position reminiscent to a crucifixion. A jagged scar runs across her throat. A pentagram has been scorched into her forehead.

[We cut to commercial. We see the logo for Pope-brand pretzels. A stylized illustration of the pope is holding a pretzel stick like a baseball bat, as nuns and priests play their positions in the outfield. An announcer's voice says, "The premiere of [I]High School is Hell[/I] is presented with limited commercial introductions by "Pope-brand Pretzels. Remember, the Pope is dope!" We then return to our regularly scheduled program.]

First we hear the bell, signifying the end of classes. The scene open in a random hallway, and we follow Milos Ewen and Laura Hanley in a conversation. Milos is currently carrying a backpack overflowing with books and squeezing an anti stress ball in his right hand, while Laura's backpack is comparatively light.

"...Wha? But I don't even have time for going out this weekend!" Milos exclaims. "There's next week's english and french exams we all gotta study, plus you know, wood delivery for the arts students, chemicals for the science club, and this whole paintball thing, gotta make sure everything goes fine everywhere for those!"

Laura sighs. "Wait, the paintball rumor is true? Milos, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Laura interrupts. "So I'll ask again, will you go out with me this weekend? Think what you've just said, and answer carefully.

There is a moment of silence before both start chuckling. "Alright alright, guess you got me on that one."

"Hey, I'm not as dumb as people think, y'know." Laura says while readjusting her backpack. "On a more serious note, I'm getting worried about you and all this overworking. Seems like you just can't refuse when someone ask you for mundane stuff."

"The worst thing is not that I accept everything, it's that I just know every single one of my demands will be accepted for some reason. It's just, well it's insane!"

They both stop before the library entrance. "I got some books to give back and get, so, uh, see ya at Lester's I guess."

"See ya at Lester's, Milos. And don't forget, if you don't find a way to free two hours of your time..." Laura pats Milos on the head before leaving. He stays silent for a moment before entering the library.
---

Cut to inside the library. An old man, looking in his mid-sixties and sporting a small white beard, sits near the counter, reading a magazine. Despite not directly looking at him, he immediately notice Milos approaching the counter.

"Well look at it, I thought you'd never give those back on time!" the librarian says with a sarcastic voice as Milos drop the books inside the small chute on the counter. "I just received the latest book in the "Travellers of the Lost World" series, if that interest you..."

"Already bought it. It's the best one, you should read it too,."

"Nah, not interested in those kinds of books." In a casual maneuver, he grabs two books from the "Reservations" bin. "So let's see, a book about world economics and another about mythology? Those are strange tastes you got."

Milos grins. "Some new interest of mine, nothing more."

"Who knows, maybe you'll make out a career out of those things." The librarian goes through the usual motions then hands out the books to Milos. "Remember, I need those back for next week!"

"Oh, it's not like anyone wante-"

Milos is interrupted as the fire alarm goes off. He sighs. "Jerks at it again, yay."

"Indeed, there's been a lot of troubles these days, and it will get worse."

Establishing shot of a large, beachfront home. We see the car of Peter Thorn pulling into the garage. The camera holds on the home's exterior for a few moments.

Cut to interior shot if a well furnished living room. There is a note on the coffee table. Peter crosses the room and drops his backpack with one hand and picks up the note with the other. The note reads:

"Peter,
Your father and I will be back on Sunday. There was a problem with the Cincinnati merger, so we were called to deal with the situation. Take care of the house while we're gone and don't forget to feed Max. "

Peter looks across the room to stare at a large St. Bernard who is sprawled across the floor. He turns around to see Lucky standing behind him, grinning.

"What the hell are you doing..."

Peter is cut short as Lucky grabs him by the jaw.

"Ah ah ah, no time for chat my boy, you have a party to throw. We're all gonna have one hell of a time."

As Lucky is talking, Peter's eyes roll back in his head, and black ichor seeps through Lucky's fingers and down the front of Peter's shirt. Lucky then slams Peter onto the ground. As soon as he hits the ground there is a series of disturbing images that flash across the screen then we hear the sounds of loud dance music and a large crowd talking. The images stop and we see peter being pulled off the ground by a girl with a cup in her hand. The house is now crowded and it is obvious that a party is well underway.

The girl laughs a little "Whoo, that was quite a fall there. Are you okay?"

Peter is obviously disoriented. He frantically checks his shirt. It is clean. "Umm...Yeah I'm uh, I'm okay." He looks around then leans over to the girl. "So, how long have I been out?"

"What? like, three seconds at the most" She looks him over "We were just talking about why you haven't been in any sports and then you just fell over. Did you hit your head or something?"

Peter looks confused for a moment then tries to maintain some sense of composure. "Oh, yeah, right. I probably just fell a little hard there. I'm fine now though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I uh...I'm just going to go to the bathroom for a second."

Cut to interior of a bathroom. The door bursts open as Peter rushes inside. He slams the door and then stares at the mirror.

A shot of Taylor West high school, some time late afternoon. Cop cars and an ambulance are parked outside.

The librarian Gabriel looks out through the blinds in the library window. We cut to behind him. He can't hear what the cops are saying as they talk to the principal and other school authority.

Zoom in on Henrietta's body being put into the back of the ambulance, on a stretcher. Principal Andrews is talking to a detective, and the vice principal is next to him. "We'll definitely need to close school for tomorrow. At least."

"Now, Mr. Andrews..." the Detective starts.

Gabriel closes the blinds and goes back sorting his books. He looks almost angry.

The camera goes blurry, focusing in on Henrietta's ravaged corpse in the background, which is now standing and talking in the library. As she speaks, blood gurgles and bubbles up out of her neck.

"You know I'm not the last, right?"

Gabriel looks up, but does not seem horrified - instead, he has the look of a man who will not back down from his convictions.

"I don't understand. Why the janitor?"

"I drew names out of hat." She reaches up to crack her neck, and ends up splitting the rip in her throat even more, causing a spray of gore to splash out onto the carpet. "Better," she smirks, teeth missing.

"Now, little Gracie Winter's seen death. Close-up and brutal, the way it's meant to be." Another tooth falls from Henrietta's mouth. "And the Grecco girl's set to lead a bunch o' kids here in a battle with some paintball guns pretty soon."

Gabriel stares the woman down hard, looking angrier by the moment.

"Then, we just wait for the Thorn boy to realize he gave his old man cancer, and we're good to go. He's throwing a little get together as we speak," Henrietta wrings her hands together, and we go to the party: a good time is being had by all. Close-up on a table holding a prescription for Peter's father - an absentminded girl bumps against it, and the bottle falls in the trash. Mere seconds later, Peter, irritated and oblivious, pulls the trash bag out and adds it to the others he's carrying. The sound effects and dreamy focus of the scene imply that this medication is holding the cancer at bay, and that losing it is a really, really bad thing.

"What do you think will be going through his head when half those kids at the party come down with cancer too? Ebola? Leprosy? Avian bird flu?" She's obviously delighted with her own creativity. "I'm surprised you just sat back and let me get this far. Once the four of them experience their natures, then the fun really begins."

"You know we can't interfere! Just because you have no concern for human life doesn't mean that goes for all of us! You were one of us yourself, never forget that." A moment of tension. "I am to guide, not interfere. Same as you. You'll feel the consequences of your actions soon enough."

"What about Famine?" Gabriel asks.

"He's in the works, my friend. He's in the works."

Gabriel turns to look out the window to see two cars wheel away, and also a frustrated Principal Andrews on his cell phone with someone. When he looks back, Henrietta is gone.

[We cut to a visibly shaken Grace. She picks up Peter with supernatural strength and hurls him through a window. Her eyes gloss over blakc and her distress slowly fades into enjoyment. She laughs, a wild and disturbing sound.]

We see Peter in a well furnished office. He is pulling books off the shelves, files out of drawers, and rooting through the waste basket. As the scene progresses he becomes more and more frantic. He flips the desk over and looks at his hands, stunned. We hear a doorbell ringing, which persists after the screen goes dark.

The school's cafeteria is filled with teens laughing, eating, and goofing around. At the far end of the room Sam and her friends are enjoying their mean and laughing about whatever it is teenagers laugh about these days.

Two boys and two girls walk into the school from off the street. They make their way through the hallways until they reach the cafeteria. They walk up to the table Sam is sitting at and just stand there. Sam's friends become quiet and stare...